at's "countdown" for tonight. from all of us here, thanks for f us here, thanks for watching. the war room is next with governor jennifer granholm. >> welcome to the war room. this is current tv's campaign headquarters from the 2012 election. this show is name after after the great documentary called "the war room." it was filmed inside the clinton campaign headquarters. this war room is a tribute to the wars being waged in campaigns across the country. my name is jennifer granholm. i'm the former governor of michigan. i've been in lots of my own war rooms over the last 14 years as governor and attorney general. i ran the state with the toughest economy in the nation during the last decade. i've been there on the ground when people have lost their

jobs their homes their loved ones in wars overseas. i'm the best with how we can create jobs in america. i'm obsessed with the role of government in building a better country and educated citizenry and i'm obsessed with democracy. i am a political junkie. and this show is my fix. i hope it will be yours too. come on inside. [music] >> so here in the war room our goal is to bring you behind the scenes with access to stories you never have seen before. we got an all-access pass into president obama's war room. his 2012 headquarters in chicago. i sat down with national field

director jeremy bird, who is the man leading the campaign foot soldiers. >> you know, a lot of people would say don't spend any resourcessources in 2011. let the republicans duke it out then build the campaign in 2012. we made the strategic decision to say we will never stop. we'll just keep it going. >> my exclusive tour of the obama war room is coming up later in the show. and we'll also be joined by robert gibbs problem's former press secretary and democratic campaign insider. now, let's head--let's head to our boots on the ground into tampa, florida where current tv correspondent david schuster has the latest on what is shaping up to be a nasty grudge match between gingrich and romney. david, what's the latest? >> well, governor, we're here along the bay. this is where the republican convention will be in august.

and of course both gingrich and romney think they're both best qualified. that's the message they're delivering. but you cannot turn on the tv or radio in the state of florida without hearing a romney super pac ad. most of the ad are hammering gingrich, describing him as a failure with scandal and he's unelectable because of the baggage he has. romney is outspending newt gringrich's super pac $5 for every $1. they're putting a foot on the peddle hopepedal. newt gringrich is describing mitt romney as a liar and a massachusetts liberal who is far too liberal for the republican party. but the state of play, the romney supporters are outgunning newt gringrich tonight and the romney campaign is feeling very confident as they head into the

final day of voting before they head intotomorrow. >> is newt gringrich feeling desperate? is there a sense of defeatism? what do you sense from his campaign as they go into tomorrow. >> it has not been haphazard butbut desperation is a good description. saying that mitt romney's elimination of kosher food newt gringrich said this is a people-powered election and he keeps saying i'm on the side of the people and romney is spending all this money and it's answer fire and gingrich is frustrated heading into tomorrow. >> as you said you're in tampa and in front of the convention

center. something tells me you'll be back there later on this year with the republican convention. now i want to give you some feel as we dig deeper into the florida poll numbers to see how the candidates are trending less than 12 hours before the polls open. here is what we are starting with. first of all to give you a sense of what the florida g.o.p. primary looks like. we have we've got 50 delegates. these delegates are almost half of the 99 delegates that initially were going to be awarded but florida moved it's primary up. now there are 50 delegates that are at play. as of right now and we're going to have a guest on in a moment to talk about this, romney is at 41.6%. gingrich at 29%. ron paul at 10% and santorum at 12. we're going to use clear politics as a way to synthesize these polls as they came out.

it is usually a broad-based gathering of the polls and the results are pretty accurate. what we'll show you now excuse me as i bump this across. the republican and the democratic numbers here, 36% of registered voters are republican. 41% are registered democrats. this is a very interesting slide because the approval ratings for governor scott has actually taken a hike. it used to be around in the 20% but governor scott is now at 43% range. you'll still notice that none of these candidates are campaigning next to rick stock unlike south carolina we saw a lot of campaigning for romney. not a lot of people standing next to rick scott. highways gone on a charm offensive but i'm not sure if it will work yet. governor romney has 21 delegates.

this is before tomorrow. gingrich with 23. gingrich has more delegates than romney does. the total number is 1144, the kicker is that we're very early in this whole primary season. the beautiful thing is we have tremendous people to be able to assess and to talk with about the delegates the polls and in fact, we have a tremendous number cruncher nate silver writes the blog for "the new york times"." so 538 column. he's joining us live from new york. thank you for joining us. really appreciate that. and i wonder from your perspective, because everybody is reading your blog and everybody follows what you write from a data analyst perspective how did romney get his groove back after south carolina? >> well, it's hard to know.

the polls have been volatile throughout the cycle going back to when herman cain led and michelle bachmann was doing well. it's not clear romney getting his proof back groove back or newt gringrich falling to earth. gingrich is a momentum-based candidate where he'll have a good debate and win the kind of free media cycle but because he's at the disadvantage with flaws that romney might point out, they are quite true. he was doing activity that looks like lobbying for freddie mac. he's a guy trying to run as an outer when he was a former speaker of the house. he has a lot of flaws. when romney is on offense and romney tend to do well. if it were to reverse people are going to nominate romney without too much of a fight. >> you wrote--today you gave a prediction about who was going to begin florida. i'll let you say who that is? >> yeah, there is not too much doubt about the outcome.

if anything, romney has built his lead in the last several polls. we think he might win by 15 points maybe as by 20 or as little at 9 or 10. but he's at the 30-1 underdog to win. >> so you're pretty confident. the ramifications as we move into february, you have written about that. we have seven states coming newspaper february. those seven states tend to be favorable towards mitt romney, and the question is can newt gringrich focus on any of those states and expect to stop the momentum that romney may be building out of florida. >> well, readership should focus on one or two. the problem is until the last day of february, february 28th, they're all caucus states. and caucuses require good

organization. they require a lot of discipline in the campaigns. they're not adjectives we associate with newt gringrich ordinarily who could not even get on the ballot in virginia. some of these states, frankly ron paul might be the bigger threat to romney up in maine for instance, ron paul left the campaign trail to go to maine where people rarely vote so making a personal appearance may make an impact. and newt will have to make it without primaries and debate. which could be challenging. >> there has been talk in florida accepts that santorum should be dropping out. i know there have been polls that refer to that if that happens. what do you project or what do you think the impact of santorum dropping out and also what is the benefit of cain's endorsement and perry's endorsement is for him? >> well, i irony is i think you

can put the question the other way, why wouldn't gingrich drop out if he lost florida by 20 points and let santorum run against romney. in some ways santorum is better to run. he's doing better with the working class fewer liabilities but romney may benefit where santorum does not want to get out of the way hopes to find imagine in the west. michigan and then ohio on super tuesday. i think that dynamic is helping romney a lot. it's not clear if santorum if "a" he would endorse gingrich or if it would help him. you only have 13% of the vote santorum, and they're evangelicals and they may not be inclined to forgive gingrich's marital problems in the past. >> nate is one of the best

numbers crunchers in the business. i want to thank him for joining us. coming up next, my interview with elizabeth warren. she's hoping to win the senate seat once held by ted kennedy from its current occupant, scott brown. and then later my tour of president obama's war room in chicago. stay with us righthththththththththththththththththththththththththththt [[vo]]...and we don't stick to party lines. >>people who buy politicians gotta cover their bets. [[vo]]we are the investigators fiercely independent, and we don't hold back. >>we are the 99% and we are too big to fail. [[vo]]...and we don't do talking points. >>i think the hypocrisy is so blatant. [[vo]]and above all... and there's only one place you'll find us. weeknights on current tv.

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the number one news show on the internet meets the only independent tv news network. the young turks on current tv. >> am i to understand the russian ambassador to be admitted entrance to the war room. >> that is correct. >> i don't know how to put this, are you aware of what a serious breach of security that would be? he would see everything, he would see the big board. >> that is precisely the idea, general. that is precisely the idea.

>> i totally love that quote. that's of course dr. strange love george c. scott. peter sellers you got to love it. we have our own big board and i want to show you a little bit about what we're going to--i'm going to get used to my big board. this is what we're doing in the country in here, in the war room. we've identified a number of states that we believe have very difficult races. one of them is massachusetts. massachusetts is a great race between senator scott brown and elizabeth warren, senator scott brown, as you know because you're political junkies too took over the seats after ted kennedy passed away. elizabeth warren and scott brown in the latest poll. the latest poll is in december so it's a little dated but it

still has her beating him. this will be a definitely race to watch. as you can see the money issues are very ripe, even though she entered fairly recently. she has been able to have $6 million on hand, but of course senator brown because he has been in office longer has an been able to race longer. we'll sit down with elizabeth warren the massachusetts candidate, and we asked her why voters should elect her to congress. take a listen. >> you know, we built america's middle class coming out of the depression because we decided to invest in us, our children and our future. that's what locked in america's middle class. we did it by investing in education, and infrastructure, boring stuff like roads mass transit and rail. we built a power grid across

this country and by investing in research. we built a pipeline of ideas in this country. basically what has happened is over the last 30 years we've just been cutting back and cutting back on those investments. so as i talk with people a lot about that, about what it took to build a middle class why the middle class is getting hammered so hard and what investments we need to make going forward. >> and if our nation is going to be competitive with our nations who are investing so well. >> you're exactly right on that. this is one of the things that i try to talk about a lot. you know this. but china right now is investing 9% of its gdp in infrastructure, so as their businesses get up and going, they can get there. europe is investing 5% of its gdp in infrom a structure infra infrastructure.

here in the united states we're at 4.5% and we're trying to cut it. and that's not competitive in the international market. >> and the same arguments could be made with investments in education, etc., too. i'm curious about the past two days. there has been a lot of stories about the pledge that you signed with your opponents, and i'm wondering with respect to that pledge because the question is how do you enforce a third party pledge, a pledge to stop third parties from spending? >> well, let's keep in mind, what this was about what it is about is the voters of the commonwealth of massachusetts it's about trying to let them make a real choice between the two candidates based on what the candidates have to say. not based on third parties who come in and millions and millions and millions of dollars in negative ads and distorted

ads and tricking ads and ads ads, and all kinds of things gumbleed up in the mess. it's really trying to get to that core and say look, i would be responsible for what i have to say. i'm going to assume scott brown has to be responsible for what he has to say. that's the best way that the people of massachusetts to be able to hear and make a decision. now, at the end of the day the law is what it is. thanks to the supreme court and citizens united. third parties have a right to come in, and we can't stop it, but what we can do is that we can say look, you think you're coming in to help one of us. the one you're trying to help has agreed that she or he will pay a penalty if you come in. it will be a contribution to charity. and try to say it with as clear a

voice as we can we want you to stay out and you're not going to be as helpful as you think you're going to be. >> it seems that the pac run by the koch brothers did not like the idea of this pledge, and seemed to state that it was unenforceable. whereas those who have been supporting you like the conservation voters said that they were willing to abide by it. so even though there was a penalty, are all bets off? >> well, you know, we're going to do our best. we have agreed that we're going to keep working together both campaigns. and try to hold this thing together for as long as we can. but you know, if the koch brothers don't like it, i'm told karl rove did not like it, and he had crossroads put out something strongly in opposition, maybe that says something good about it. >> do you think we need to have a constitutional amendment? >> you know, citizens united has

said in effect that karl rove and the koch brothers and crossroads can just take the american electorate by the throat and squeeze as hard as they want. we're going to have to push back on that. i think we should start with the part that is easiest and that is really aggressive disclosure. congress can do that under the citizens united opinion. so far hasn't done that. that's one step we should take. a second step is we should be looking much more into public financing to try to wean campaigns off of this kind of money. but at the end of the day if those aren't adequate, then i think we are going to at least look at the question of a constitutional amendment. i go there reluctantly, go we can't let these secret groups who just want to pour in money flood our electorate process. the lobbyists already pretty much own how the operations work

in washington. and now they're just reaching out that same kind of money control. just reaching out on campaignen. >> in the past couple of days there has been a few stories out. one indicating that thump advocating for members of congress not to own individual stock. and there was an article that you and your husband own stock in ibm and other things, etc. can you respond to that and see if there is a distinction with respect to your situation versus some others who might be owning stock effected by lobbyists who might be contributing. >> the ibm stock yes we own it. i've owned it--it was actually a pretty modest investment made 35 years ago i think. and the money has been

reinvested. if i were in congress, i'd sell it in a heartbeat. i don't think people in congress ought to own stock in companies where they can influence the outcomes. other than that, my retirement funds are held in big mutual funds. there's no way to influence the outcome of any part of that, at least not that i know. hat theat the heart of this is what we should be doing. they should not be trading on insider information. more importantly, i don't think they ought to be outthere influencing their own pocketbooks when they're making decisions on behalf of the public. >> you're obviously familiar with politics in washington, but what for you what has been the most surprising thing about running for office? >> how much energy there is. to have a cans to get out there and actually just talk with people in cafes and bars and i'm

spending more time in bars than i ever had before. just to be out talking to people. they understand the election in in 2012 in many ways is--for all the marbles, it's the direction this country goes for the next half century. >> that's great, so great to have you on. so great to have your strong voice. elizabeth warren, democratic candidate for massachusetts senator. we'll be keeping an eye on your race here in the war room. thank you. >> thank you. such a pleasure to be here. congratulations for launching this. >> warren's opponent senator scott brown interestingly introduced a bill that would crackdown on insider trading in congress. it seems like an attempt to inoculate himself from attacks that he is on the side of big business. that is a race that we'll be watching and keeping an eye on it. up next heading back to the

campaign trail florida's supporter of newt gringrich will be my guest. plus we'll have more from inside the president's war room, in an interview with former white house [ dennis ] ...allstate. really? i was afraid you'd have some cut-rate policy. [ kyle ] nope, i've got... [ dennis ] ...the allstate value plan. it's their most affordable car insurance --

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and ask one of their representatives about a plan that meets your needs. [[vo]]...we're the idea nobody wants to hear. ...until the truth reveals itself. boat-rockers. and above all... and there's only one place you'll find us. weeknights on current tv. [music] >> as we've been telling you its high noon for the republican candidates in florida tomorrow. and we're now joined by newt

gringrich's florida campaign co-chair man and the former attorney general of florida bill, thank you so much for joining us from orlando. you may be having been in the war room in florida but i'm excited to invite you and welcome you to the war room right here. if i could-- >> jennifer, congratulations on your new show. >> well, thank you. that's very gracious of you. i really appreciate it. and since you're here obviously as a gingrich supporter, and so there are some reports tonight that have been aired saying that going forward that in february it may seem that gingrich will cede states like nevada to romney. is there any truth to those plans? >> there is no plans to cede any state going forward after this election. in fact, he's off to nevada and already working and thinking about that. we're talked talked about that a couple of times over this week. he's going to wage a campaign all the way to the republican

convention. this is a very different race. he's a grassroots candidate. he represents the heart of the republican party the conservative side of it, and there are many folks that mitt romney does not represent them. i will also say that i've known newt a long time. i served with him in congress. i was there. he was the whip and i was the vice president of the congress. we wouldn't have had the contract with america we wouldn't have wealth reform and we wouldn't have four balanced budgets during that year without his leadership. it is his leadership, his knowledge, and his ability to see out in vision that would make him a great vision. as people see that over time, i'm very confident he's going to prevail in this primary. >> but you are certainly--you're a great spokesperson for him.

and i think in light of all the stories that are coming out tonight about the difference in the polls and the fact that it looks like obviously romney is going to take florida, is there anything that can happen in this next 24-hour period that could reverse that? it looks like florida is gone. i'm not sure where the message has fallen down, but it clearly has not been working. >> well, the problem with this campaign in florida, if it is a problem, and i don't know. there are a couple of polls that showed us coming back in the last day or so. we'll see. it's gone up and down. romney led by 25 points two weeks ago and then gingrich came up after the south carolina primary, but the issue here has been money. it's been the mitt romney organization that has focused on florida and the effort to end it all here for whoever, it's been a long-term plan. he has outspend 4-1 with almost all negative ads. in that process you've been in public life and you've seen this

happen, the messaging of the real serious differences has been drowned out with character assassination. and oftentimes when you say things about people and they have not been able to respond with mailings and so on, you tend to prevail. but this expenditure by romney cannot continue all the way through. this has been the process. >> we just did anal analysis on an analogy and there is a question whether florida will be a take all or if there will an fight with proportional strategy that would extend the time of the republican primary season. do you think that will be a fight that the gingrich team will take on? >> well, newt has talked to us about that and i think there could be a fight every it. it depends on what the status of this is as we go towards the convention. if this is a close contest i assure you there will be such a fight. he has other things going on in

messages that will come up over the next few weeks. you saw where george soros made the comments that were filmed that there wasn't much difference between romney and obama, there wouldn't be a particular change. but with newt gringrich there would be big changes. from the republican standpoint which carries the day in many states most states will carry it that will be an issue. george soros represents the liberal democrat party and also the big money and a lot of other things. i think you're going to see an interesting comparison going forward between gingrich and romney. >> all right y'all heard that little tease. there will be more interesting comparisons. there might an few things coming out. bill mccollum thank you for joining us in the war room. it will be interesting to see the moves of the gingrich campaign. up next, the war room is already running at full throttle. you heard what the republicans are doing. we'll take you on an exclusive

tour of the democratic campaign, chicago nerve center. plus stay on topic. it's the order of the day for every political candidate. we'll see how well bill mccollum did it, but how are those topics chosen? we're joined with a very interesting theory. you're in the war room, and this is current [[vo]]...and we don't stick to party lines. >>people who buy politicians gotta cover their bets. [[vo]]we are the investigators fiercely independent, and we don't hold back. >>we are the 99% and we are too big to fail. [[vo]]...and we don't do talking points. >>i think the hypocrisy is so blatant. [[vo]]and above all... and there's only one place you'll find us. weeknights on current tv.

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[music] >> one of the things we very much want to do in the war room is to pull back the curtain and give you an insider's look of how things work in politics and why. what better place to do that than inside president obama's war room. the campaign headquarters in chicago. we got an exclusive look at the campaign's nerve center and the people who's job it is to make sure that no vote is left behind.

>> don't let the game playing fool you. what goes on here is serious business. >> this is our team for operation vote, which oversees all of our constituency programs young americans latinos, african-americans, etc. etc. >> this is president obama's campaign war room in chicago central command for an army of thousands of foot soldiers deploy on the ground in all 50 states. >> what the heck is this? operation? >> so obviously no campaign can make it unless the operation team manages everything. sometimes you got to get creative. >> budget, travel. >> the ftd reporting. >> everything you know. >> in 2008 candidate obama's army was impressive. marching on a promise of hope and change. >> i'm here to and i'm so excited to be part of this huge,

new movement. there hasn't been an election where everybody is so pumped up about it. >> i love you obama! >> god bless america. >> now the terrain has changed. despite a recent up tick in president obama's approval rating it still stands below 50% while the unemployment rate is 8%. to address the new reality the 300 plus people here are working to build a bigger, more organized army. >> this is the team that helps us when we send out e-mails about what is happening for women for obama. >> they need to make sure that their core constituencies get involved and stay involved until voter day. that's michael black's job. >> what are we doing every state, every person around the country, we want them engaged with what is happening in the campaign. >> many of the groups you're targeting, most people would say, well, those are his voters anyway, why do you need to have an aggressive effort to get them out?

it's not really about persuasion, is it? >> you can never assume that anyone is going to show up to vote. we have to make sure that we're using the time to get people energized and engaged. >> who is in charge? jeremy bird is the national field directer. >> so our goal is to have between 15 and 20,000 local neighborhood teams with captain canvass cam tans, data coordinators and make sure we've got data in the right systems. >> what is the difference in the field operation of 2008 and now. >> we have deeper relationships in communities. we have more trained volunteers and staffers. this isn't their first campaign. they work in the primary. they worked in the general. so they're more battle tested. >> well, it sure has been fun in florida these last several days. >> while the battle for the republican nomination has been getting all the attention, the obama war room has been building

up its own parallel operation in every state. take florida. >> most of the republican candidates started organizing three weeks ago max. we've been here since 2007. our operations never left the state. >> and while old fashion boots on the ground are essential the latest technology will track their progress in a way that was just not possible in 2008. >> we're always focused on being data driven. when we're out talking to people we make sure that we're tracking tracking that and we have really good systems in owl states to track that conversation and really get at not just are you supporting the president but if you are why. and if not why not. >> and the amount of conversation that goes back. >> the amount of conversation. people are opening e-mail. are they giving money when we're asking for grassroots donations? last week we asked the most active people who would be host people at your house for a state of the union and we saw 2700

hosts which is a phenomenal number. >> because we will lead an all out strategy. >> in addition to the thousands of house parties across the country, some were hosted at restaurant like this one in oakland, california. more than 300 people gathered here to watch the president deliver his state of the union address. >> at a time when americans owe more in tuition debt than credit card debt this congress needs to stop the interest rates on students loans from doubling in july. [applause] >> how the president's speech played at parties like this was tracked back at the headquarters in chicago. >> that night we knew within an hour of the event how did we do in florida? what are people saying? how many people showed up. >> michael blake said he wants to make sure that voters know the president's accomplishments and how they matter to them. >> a lot of times we may get asked what has been changed and why should young americans be involved again? well first the president ended the iraq warlike said he would. the president has appealed don't

ask/don't tell like he said he would. 2.5 million americans have access to healthcare. >> we found one young voter who got the message. >> he gave me a job and kept me on insurance. this time around i owe this guy a little bit. there is no more hope in change rah-rah stuff. this is the real world and i owe him a little bit. >> if there is anyone who knows about winning strategies for tough campaigns it's our next guest robert gibbs. the vet of president obama's 2008 campaign. he also served as white house press secretary. he has been with obama for many years, and he's now a key strategist for the president's campaign to stay in the white house. he joins us from washington. welcome to our war room. >> governor, it's great to be here. >> it is really great to have you. all i can tell you is having visited the campaign headquarters in chicago is that

you know the republicans be afraid. be very afraid. it is an amazing operation. is it like what it was in 2008? >> no, it's way way bigger than it was in 2008. i think jeremy and michael really touched on the core of it governor, and that is conversations with voters and with activists young people, older americans and everybody in between that we need to get involved in and stay involved in this election, that's really what the outreach and the targeting is all about. look that place is massive. one of the first times i went i had to ask directions to get to the bathroom, and then i got lost halfway. >> i did the same thing. [laughing] >> our thing has been from the beginning of this, and the beginning in 2007 was to continue to have that conversation, to never go away. the change was not going to happen overnight.

it was going to happen because millions and millions of people were involved. i think that's what is being built and has been built over the long haul in chicago. >> yep well, robert gibbs, i'm going to ask that you stay right here. i want further conversation with you about that when we return. we'll shift the focus on florida and we will robert's take on the g.o.p. race and more. this is the war room, and we'll be right back. this is countdown south carolina. forgot the name of the show p.m. tony, pick it up. you know i'm just

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[music] >> we're back with robert gibbs, former white house press secretary and consultant for the president's re-election campaign, and the man who obama's campaign aides have called the barak whisperer the ability to speak the president's language. thank you for being here. wewe were just talking about the war room of a campaign. and one of the key components of a war room is opposition research. we want to make sure that the full of america knows everything that you know. i'm wondering tonight, is there any opposition research or tidbits or stories that are not being told on the republican side of the aisle that you think people ought to know? >> well, look, i think if you're focusing on florida you got to focus on things like medicare. one of the things that i think

we'll be getting a lot of attention in the coming days and certainly throughout the campaign is mitt romney spent time on the board of a corporation called the damon corporation, a medical testing corporation. while he was on the board making hundreds of thousands of dollars the company was involved with medicare fraudbilking tax payers. that's the type of experience that governor romney wants to bring to the white house. i think the more people learn about that type of experience and experiences like that, the less they're going to trust him. quite frankly to bring that type of mentality. i think there is a lot about governor romney's record and a lot about speaker newt gringrich's record that is being aired in this campaign and will be aired as we make very important choice in 2012.

>> it certainly will be. i know that obviously part of a campaign is to build on the positive messages that are out there as well, and obviously the president's state of the union address, and he's going on the road. one of the things that you and i have talked about in the past because being governor of michigan i was very concerned about the auto industry and how to create jobs in america. the president talked about how to create jobs here. i assume that will be a strategy going forward especially compared to the plans that the republicans are putting out. >> governor, i think you hit the nail on the head. you were a great partner of ours in the state of michigan at an extraordinarily tough time. the president will have to make some tough decisions to help save the auto industry and we've seen now the auto plants in michigan are at capacity. we've saved more than-- >> wait, wait, before you go further, before you go further because i know they're cutting

us down here, you got to tell everybody what your favorite car is. go ahead. >> the car i drive is a g.m. a chevy volt. it is a magnificent, wonderful car. one of the greatest inventions i think we've seen in years in this country. it is almost exclusively powered by electricity. to give your viewers a hint on this i've driven the entire month of january on less than one tenth of a gallon of a gas. >> see, this is a beautiful thing. >> remarkable. made in america. >> of course, this is a setup because i drive a volt as well. best car i've ever owned. it's like floating down the street. it's a beautiful thing. robert gibbs, i hope you will come back again and join us. i know we've got to move. we thank you the former white house press secretary. thank you for taking time to join us in the war room. >> congratulations on your show.

>> thank you. up next we'll go from strategy in the president's war room to pandering on the republican campaign trail. as a resident president funnyman brett ehrlich tells us why the republican candidates have been spending so much time with their heads in outer space. it's the war room [ dennis ] ...allstate. really? i was afraid you'd have some cut-rate policy. [ kyle ] nope, i've got... [ dennis ] ...the allstate value plan. it's their most affordable car insurance -- and you still get an allstate agent. i too have... [ dennis ] ...allstate. [ roger ] same agent and everything. [ kyle ] it's like we're connected. no we're not. yeah, we are.

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(vo)the young turks are here. >>win! >>cenk uygur and his team take the headlines head on. >>i accuse you because i have the numbers. >> as we mentioned the candidates have been fighting tooth and nail to appeal to the florida voters but being able to identify what matters most for floridians can be tricky. here is the first of our nightly spot called "shh brett's talking now." >> hey i'm brett ehrlich and i'm talking now. withif you've been following the action in florida they want to

connect with floridians. they're talking about cubans or space. >> people on the coast who are suffering. >> building space. >> it is my expectation that fidel castro will finely be taken over this planet. >> wow, that was cuba and space. you may be asking yourself, why cubans in space? of all the things you can talk about in the states, how do you narrow it down to just two. these desands are using a tactic that the insiders call the quarter turn method. what is the quarter turn method? first, you take the special edition quarter. then you turn it over, and you talk about whatever is on the back. let's take a look at florida's quarter. you have a boat going ashore. that's your cubans. then you have the space shuttle. ♪ cubans and space."

look at georgia. they have a peach on the back so talk about crops. i can't wait to talk talk about hawai'i where everyone is terrified of enormous men with beards to come out and and impale the islanders. and the quarter turn method, it's like the da vinci code. it's easy to figure out but for mitt romney. it was hard to convince him that they made money in denominations this small. that's it for me. i'm done talking. >> thanks for joining us here on our first night on the war room. remember someone is always in our war room. check us out online on